Shirley MacLaine’s Book A Close Encounter

Actress, writer, spiritualist and famous sibling, Shirley MacLaine, is working hard flogging her new book, Sage-ing While Age-ing (Atria). At the Publisher’s Weekly blog, Karen Holt offers entertaining and intelligent assessments of both the book and MacLaine’s Tuesday night launch at the New York Palace Hotel.

Holt boils Sage-ing While Age-ing down:

Her new book is an eclectic mix of insights: A banana makes a more nutritious snack than a candy bar; people in Hollywood are too materialistic; being abducted and impregnated by an extraterrestrial can be a surprisingly positive experience, though it does tend to strain a marriage.

And when MacLaine leaves the shindig early, Holt doesn’t pounce on the things about the guest of honor that might have made us giggle in the past. Opting instead for a self-deprecating tone and a cheerful poke:

Also, standing around drinking wine and flagging down the guy with the hors de ouvres tray may be a fine evening for some of us, but it probably seems a little tame for a woman who used to hang with Sinatra and, in a former life, had a hot affair with the Emperor Charlemagne.

Many media outlets have been less respectful, especially since this is the book in which MacLaine outs presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich as the survivor of a reasonably close encounter. From Sage-ing While Age-ing:

Dennis found his encounter extremely moving. The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him.

It hovered, soundless, for 10 minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn’t comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind.

Kucinich has confirmed MacLaine’s claim. And the press has been partying.